Ultimate Vegan Mac n Cheese

Ever be cooking something, and the next thing you know you are adding all kinds of leftover veggies and such? That’s what I did when I made this Ultimate Vegan Mac n Cheese for my mother-in-law the other night, and it turned out amazing!

Don’t get me wrong, my Mac and Cheese Recipe is already super tasty all by itself. But by adding a little bit more to it? Wow, it became bomb-diggity good as my good friend Kim would say.

My Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper is kind of the same thing.

I started with my base recipe of Mac n Cheese, and added canned tomatoes and my Cauliflower Taco Crumbles to it. Turned it into something completely different.

That’s what I did last night with this new recipe.

It didn’t add that much time to the recipe as many of the different parts of the recipe can be cooking simultaneously, so I hope you experiment with it and come up with your own version.

If you do, please be sure and share it with us either in our BNV Community Facebook Group or on my Instagram using #brandnewvegan.

Ultimate Vegan Mac n Cheese

The Cheese

Obviously, for Mac and Cheese, you’re going to need the cheese sauce already prepped and ready. So take care of that first.

My Amazing Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe is right here, and using your instant-pot, can be ready in about 30 minutes.

The Veggies

While those yummy carrots and potatoes are steaming away in your IP – grab a non-stick skillet and add a little low-sodium veggie broth and about a cup of diced red onion.

I also had 1/2 of a red bell pepper, so I added that too. About 1/2 cup.

And sitting next to the red pepper in my fridge was half of a poblano pepper, so I diced that up too, for about 1/4 cup.

Sweat the veggies down over med heat, just until they begin to soften, then add a teaspoon or two of minced garlic.

The last thing I had in my fridge that needed using up was some Portobello Mushrooms. So I sliced those up and added them to the pan. About 8oz worth. By this point my pan was a little dry, so I added about 2 Tbs of low-sodium soy sauce and a few turns of freshly cracked pepper.

I cooked the mushroom over med-low heat, just until most of the liquid had cooked off.

The second half of my veggie medley was a 10oz bag of frozen Broccoli and Cauliflower. Of course, you can use whatever frozen veggie you like, but I always have several bags of Broc-Cauli in my freezer. These are the kind that you can microwave/steam right in the bag.

Into the microwave for about 4 minutes, then I dump them onto my cutting board and chop them up into smaller pieces (why do they leave the broccoli so BIG?!)

The Pasta

Now that the cheese is done and standing by, along with all our cooked veggies, all that’s left is to cook our pasta.

I use an Italian, organic, gluten-free product from a company called Binaturae. It’s a brown-rice pasta that my wife and I really like. I found it at my local Kroger (Fred Meyer).

Amazon has it too and I’ll add my affiliate link in case you want to use it. I do earn a small commission as an Amazon Affiliate, which helps supports my site but at no extra cost to you.

Whatever pasta you decide to use, follow the directions and then drain. Add your drained pasta back into your pasta pot and we’re ready to make our Ultimate Vegan Mac and Cheese

Mac n Cheese

Simply add all your veggies to the pasta and mix. The onions, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, all of it.

In addition, I had a single tomato on my counter that needed used, so I diced it up and added that too.

As I said, this is a great way of using bits and pieces that have been collecting on your counter or in your fridge.

Now add the cheese sauce and stir.

Use as much or as little as you like. No guilt here because the cheese is made from – that’s right – MORE VEGGIES.

And there you have my Ultimate Vegan Mac n Cheese. It’s a great comfort-food meal and it doesn’t take that long to make. I’m sure even the pickiest eaters in your house will enjoy it too.

Ultimate Vegan Mac n Cheese

Author: Brand New Vegan
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 4-6 servings
Category: Main, Pata
Method: Stovetop, Blender
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegan

Description

This recipe is a great way of using extra veggies – and when it all comes together it tastes amazing. The ULTIMATE vegan mac n cheese.

Ingredients

1 batch vegan cheese sauce
1 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced poblano pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
8 oz sliced portobello mushrooms
2 Tbs low-sodium soy sauce
10 oz bag frozen broccoli and cauliflower
12 oz pkg brown rice elbow pasta
1 diced tomato

Instructions

Prepare the cheese sauce – set aside
In a non-stick skillet, saute the onion and peppers until softened
Add garlic and stir for about 30 sec or until fragrant
Add mushrooms and soy sauce and cook until liquid has evaporated – set aside
Microwave or steam frozen veggies. You can chop into smaller pieces if you want.
Prepare pasta according to directions – then drain and return to pan
Add all veggies to the pasta along with the diced tomato and stir
Add cheese sauce and stir – I usually add the whole batch
When thick and creamy – serve.